Robert Thomas Byman (born April 25, 1955) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.
Early life Byman was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, but moved to Colorado when 13 years old. He only lived in Colorado for five years, but won the state amateur stroke-play championship three years in a row 1971–73, the first player since Hale Irwin 1963–65 to do so. As a 17-year-old, he won the U.S Junior Amateur, beating Scott Simpson in the final.
Amateur career Byman attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was a member of the golf team. He played with Jay Haas and Curtis Strange on the 1974 and 1975 teams, which won the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. Golf World has called the 1974–75 teams "the greatest college team of all time". At the end of 1976 Golf Digest ranked Byman the No. 2 amateur in the country behind only Scott Simpson.
Professional career Byman turned pro in 1976. He spent the early part of his professional career playing on the European Tour, where he had a great deal of success, winning four times. Tiger Woods is the only American golfer with more regular European Tour wins. He played full-time on the PGA Tour 1979–84. His best year was 1979 when he won the Bay Hill Citrus Classic in a playoff against John Schroeder, earned $94,243, and made the cut in all 20 of his starts. His best finish in a major championship was T-7 in the 1979 British Open.
Byman also won the New Zealand Open, an official event on the Australian Tour.
Byman played on the European Seniors Tour in 2005.
Amateur wins (6) this list may be incomplete 1971 Colorado Amateur 1972 U.S. Junior Amateur, Colorado Amateur 1973 Colorado Amateur 1976 Northeast Amateur, Rice Planters Amateur
Professional wins (6)
PGA Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Mar 4, 1979Bay Hill Citrus Classic−6 (67-70-70-71=278)Playoff John Schroeder
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11979Bay Hill Citrus Classic John SchroederWon with par on second extra hole
European Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Jul 24, 1977Scandinavian Enterprise Open−13 (70-69-68-68=275)1 stroke Hugh Baiocchi2Aug 14, 1977Dutch Open−10 (69-70-68-71=278)1 stroke Hugh Baiocchi3Jul 23, 1978Dutch Open (2)−2 (74-72-68=214)1 stroke Nick Price4Jul 4, 1982Scandinavian Enterprise Open (2)−9 (69-69-66-71=275)3 strokes Sam Torrance
New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Dec 11, 1977New Zealand Open +6 (66-72-78-74=290)1 stroke Terry Gale
Results in major championships Tournament19721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985Masters TournamentT34U.S. OpenCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipT17T7CUTCUTPGA ChampionshipT2177
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied
See also Spring 1978 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
Notes
References
External links
The Byman Institute of Advanced Golf Studies